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Transmission just quit working! No warning signs.

glboot

New CEG'er
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Messages
6
Location
MN
What would cause the transmission to just quit with no warning and no noise of any kind? Everything has been working perfectly for the life of the car. The transmission was not making any noise or slipping and it has always had smooth shifts. I'm guessing the pump, but could it be a sensor or the computer?

1999 Mercury Mystique
4-cylinder
automatic transaxle
180,000 miles

motor still runs great and the body is excellent so I would like to get this working again. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Is the OD light flashing?

Is the OD light flashing?

Like brapple said, oil level color and smell. And is the od light flashing? Have you done the quick check. Unplug the ROUND connector under the battery tray from the trans. You will have to remove the clip to pull the plug. Once that is done, it takes out all of the electrical and sensor reasons for not working. If sensors are your issue then the car will move in 2nd and reverse. If not, life sucks.

If that is the case I think you are correct, you have no oil pressure. That is easy to check. Put an oil pressure gage on the pump tap located in the driver's wheel well.

If you have no oil pressure it might be the pump, but I'd bet on the small driveshaft that connects the pump rotor to the engine side of the torque converter. While they rarely break, they sometimes strip out the mating sheetmetal part.
 
Yep, it's remarkable how little of the corners of that driveshaft must wear to fail. When it does, no nothing forward or reverse. Mine went into gas station for fillup. Came back out, started car up and it wouldn't budge. That stupid $10 part will force a trans removal to fix it. I much prefer the old style of pump drive with big tangs or flats on converter snout, that never happened with those.
 
If you decide to fix

If you decide to fix

IF it is the pump drive shaft and you decide to fix it, check the drive shaft for twist. It is a hexagon shape so a simple look at it will tell you if you have twist. If the shaft is twisted you will have to pull the trans apart to find out why the pump is so difficult to turn. At that point on a 99 is it really worth it to fix it?

If it is the shaft and the shaft is straight the minimum you will need to do is the shaft and the torque converter.

If the shaft is twisted, the minimum is the shaft, torque converter, and oil pump. Of course you must pull the trans apart to get to the pump. While you are at it you should at least replace the fragile band and the oil filter.
 
Thanks for your help everyone! The fluid level is good and the fluid is clean. No OD light flash, everything was working perfectly and then....... I will try the to bypass the sensor by unplugging the connector and if nets no results I will check the fluid pressure. I'll post my findings as soon as I get to it. Thanks again all.
 
Minnescrotum?

Minnescrotum?

What part of minnescrotum are you from? Spent too many years there before I found out I didn't have to freeze my nads off every winter.

I am kind of a slow learner
 
Hello Andres, I'm in Cambridge, MN. You do have to keep moving here in the winter or you may become prone to nad freeze up. There is nothing like a good romp down the snowmobile trail to keep the wood on the fire. What part of Minnescrotum did you freeze you nads?
 
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